Hoon haven

The exclusive resort where millionaires come to drive racing cars.

What would you do if you were a multimillionaire with a passion for fast cars? After you'd started your own supercar company and raced formula one cars, that is.

Well, you could build your own racetrack. Not just an old strip of tarmac scribbled across a field. No, you'd build one of the most challenging circuits in the world and then put a world-class resort next to the pits.

At least that's what Dutch tycoon Klaas Zwart has done with Ascari Race Resort. Part racetrack and part country club, it's the ultimate playground for the cashed-up petrolhead.

Zwart, who made his fortune through oil, has carved out his slice of revhead heaven in the countryside near the city of Ronda, in the south of Spain. No expense has been spared in the creation of the facility.

Alongside the track are state-of-the-art pit boxes to work on the cars; behind is a beautiful courtyard with a 200-year-old oak tree at its centre. On the other side of the courtyard is a three-storey car park that can house more than 400 cars.

It also features a world-class workshop where Zwart's cars - and those belonging to members of his exclusive club - are maintained to the highest standard.

One level of the car park is devoted to Zwart's personal collection of exotic machinery, which includes a 2004 Jaguar R5 F1 car (the same kind used by Mark Webber), three 1995 Ferrari F1 machines, a 1997 Benetton F1 racer and two 2001 Arrows three-seater F1 cars.

To keep these million-dollar machines safe, entry to the F1 section of the garage is via a thumb scanner that reads the fingerprint on the seventh layer of your skin. It's just one of the inventions the Dutchman came up with as he amassed his fortune.

But it's not just the cars that are well catered for at Ascari. To the side of the courtyard is a restaurant, bar and pool where the humans can refuel and relax.

''Basically, I would like to own a circuit I could play on every day, that's how it started,'' Zwart explained in a 2010 interview.

''Every day I get here, I still think it's a fantastic place and I love it. It's like walking into heaven when you get to those gates.''

But Zwart couldn't keep heaven to himself. The businessman inside him saw the potential in the place and opened it up as a private club to members willing to pay big bucks.

An annual membership costs about $26,000 and includes 15 days on the track and use of facilities. But if you want the full experience, you can step up to one of the more expensive options.

A premium-card holder is entitled to a 25-year membership, 50 track days, a personalised race suit and helmet, access to private functions and discounts off racing cars. But, and it's a big but, it costs about $200,000 to join and $13,500 each year.

Although the list of members is private, Zwart let slip in an interview that MotoGP superstar Valentino Rossi, Jamiroquai frontman Jay Kay and Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson are track regulars.

Driving the track, it is easy to understand why people are willing to pay such large sums of money to join up. Zwart took inspiration from the world's best circuits, including Australia's own Mount Panorama, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the mother of all tracks, Germany's Nurburgring Nordschleife.

The full circuit measures 5.42 kilometres and features an even split of left- and right-hand corners to give car and driver a balanced workout. There is every type of corner imaginable, from not-quite-flat-out sweeping bends to tight, slow chicanes. There are also banked corners, elevation changes and three straights.

One thing Ascari doesn't have is grandstands and billboards such as those you find at every other track. Special attention was paid to making the track fit into the rolling Spanish countryside; even the barriers are painted to blend into the landscape.

Care was taken, too, to be as kind to the environment as a racetrack can be. Trees that blocked the path of the track layout were relocated and new trees have been planted around the facility.

Despite all that, the track meets the second-highest standard of safety requirements of the FIA, international motor racing's governing body. But officially, it doesn't host any races or testing.

What it does do, though, is host car company vehicle launches and private race days for club members.

Given the fact that most of the track's private members own F1 machinery or vehicles that are equally fast, these are seriously quick private race meetings.

As a playground for the rich and famous, Klaas Zwart's little slice of heaven ranks with the best.

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The size of your tyre is located on the sidewall of your tyre.It will be similar to the sample below.